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"Walkaway Joe"
Single by Trisha Yearwood featuring Don Henley
from the album Hearts in Armor
B-side	"You Don't Have to Move to That Mountain"
Released	November 2, 1992
Studio	Sound Emporium (Nashville, Tennessee)
Genre	Country
Length	4:19
Label	MCA Nashville
Songwriter(s)	Vince Melamed, Greg Barnhill
Producer(s)	Garth Fundis
Trisha Yearwood singles chronology
"Wrong Side of Memphis" (1992) "Walkaway Joe" (1992) "You Say You Will" (1993)
Don Henley singles chronology
"Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" (1992) "Walkaway Joe" (1992) "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" (1993)

"Walkaway Joe" is a song written by Vince Melamed and Greg Barnhill, and recorded by American country music singer Trisha Yearwood, with background vocals from Don Henley of the Eagles. It was released in November 1992 as the second single from her album Hearts in Armor. The song reached number 2 on the U.S. Billboard country charts. Matthew McConaughey appears as the male lead in the music video.

Content

"Walkaway Joe" is a mid-tempo ballad describing a failed relationship initiated by an over-eager 17-year-old girl ("Such are the dreams of an average Jane / Ninety miles an hour down lovers' lane") and an uninterested male (presumably embarking on a life of crime, as evidenced in the song's second verse), or "Walkaway Joe."

After a performance on The Tonight Show, Yearwood met Don Henley of the Eagles and, after being invited to sing on her second album, he traveled to Nashville, Tennessee and recorded background vocals for the song.

Matthew McConaughey appears in the music video.

The song appeared in the CBS show Touched by an Angel. Episode 512 of the show entitled "Fool For Love" was based on the song.

Critical reception

Thom Jurek described the song favorably in his review of Hearts in Armor, saying, "Yearwood's telling the story she tells best, working-class love gone bad." In a review of Yearwood's 1997 greatest-hits package (Songbook) A Collection of Hits, Gordon Ely of the Richmond Times said, "It's not just a great song. It's memorable and only a shade shy of pure poetry. And it will be with us for a long time."

The song was nominated for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female at the 1994 Grammy Awards.

Chart performance

"Walkaway Joe" debuted at number 60 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of November 7, 1992.

Year-end charts

References

1. Brown, John (January–February 1999). "Save the Last Dance for Me". American Cowboy: 26–27. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
2. Jurek, Thom. "Hearts in Armor review". Allmusic. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
3. Ely, Gordon (7 December 1997). "Some hits packages do deliver". Richmond Times. p. H5. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
4. "A selection of the Grammy nominations". Boston Globe. 7 January 1994. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
5. "Trisha Yearwood's ARIA chart history, received from ARIA in 2022 page 3". ARIA. Retrieved December 3, 2023 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
6. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 1842." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. December 26, 1992. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
7. "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 1724." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. February 6, 1993. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
8. "Trisha Yearwood Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
9. "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1993". RPM. December 18, 1993. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
10. "Best of 1993: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1993. Retrieved August 5, 2013.

• 1992 singles
• Trisha Yearwood songs
• Don Henley songs
• Male–female vocal duets
• Songs written by Vince Melamed
• Song recordings produced by Garth Fundis
• MCA Records singles
• 1992 songs
• Songs written by Greg Barnhill